


Allotment

by theundeadsiren (rhoen)



Series: March 2015 [4]
Category: In the Flesh (TV)
Genre: Alive AU, First Meetings, M/M, Not Yet Friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-04-02 04:57:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4046902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhoen/pseuds/theundeadsiren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick accompanies his mum to the allotment she has, and is encouraged to talk to another young guy there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Allotment

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fourth of the fics I wrote in March.
> 
> (First posted 14/3/15)

**You may not take this fic and edit or reupload it - in whole or in part - without my express permission. This includes translations.**

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Thank you for respecting my wishes

* * *

 

Rick had been to the allotment with his mum a few times before, and as he looked around the patchwork of small gardens in the suburbs that were filled with rich greens and browns even this early in spring, he wasn't sure why he didn't come more often. Life was pretty hectic, and while he loved his job as a full-time firefighter and wouldn't give it up for anything, there were moments he really did want to escape the hustle and bustle of city life and find somewhere quiet and untouched by the rat-race, somewhere he could be alone with his thoughts. He supposed this was close enough.  
  
His mum was content to work quietly, and other than themselves, there were two people tending to their own allotments - a thirty-something woman who had a baby strapped to her chest with a multi-coloured sling, and a young guy with reddish-blond hair who was working diligently two spaces over. As Rick half-leant against the garden arch he'd helped his mum put in two weeks ago and listened to the birdsong that was for once louder than the distant sound of traffic, he watched the guy work, taking in his appearance. Perhaps the same age as Rick, he seemed tall, but was crouched down as he tugged out weeds and loosened the soil, turning it as much with his bare hands as with the tool he had. Not once did he look up, and it seemed to Rick that there were nothing in the world for the guy other than himself and what he was doing. Rick didn't realise how long he'd been watching the blond work until he heard his mum speak.  
  
"You should go talk to him."  
  
Surprised his mum had noticed and said anything, Rick gave a dismissive grin and shake of his head, turning towards his mum, but saying nothing on the topic. "Would you like a hand?" he offered for the third or fourth time that day. It was her turn to shake her head.  
  
"No thanks, love."  
  
"At least let me at least go dump this in the compost pile," he said, indicating to the flexible plastic bucket that was barely starting to fill up with old roots and weeds.  
  
"Thanks Rick," his mum agreed gracefully. They both knew Rick didn't need to do it, but his mum also knew he didn't like feeling like he was being idle. The allotment was Janet's 'project', and she put a lot of time and effort into caring for it, and was more than happy to do it herself - it had been her escape when she'd move here to be closer to Rick after Rick's dad died, and it was something she'd found immense comfort in. Occasionally fetching something from the shed or carrying a bag of compost for her was the biggest input Rick could have, other than simply keeping her company.  
  
"You should go talk to him," Janet repeated as Rick returned the empty bucket to her side. It made Rick look up again towards the guy, who was still focused on what he was doing.  
  
"Don't think he wants to be bothered, mum," Rick shrugged. When he looked back to Janet, she simply gave him a smile. He didn't know how she changed his mind like that. Sighing in resignation, he gave a small smile.  
  
"Fine," he agreed, shaking his head slightly. Oh, he wasn't lonely - he had a large circle of amazing friends - but it would obviously put his mum's mind at ease (or amuse her) to see him talking to someone while she worked. Maybe she thought he was lonely, despite him often talking about his friends from work.  
  
As he approached the blond, the guy looked up, registering Rick's presence with well-concealed surprise. Rick gave him a smile that was more relaxed than he felt, glancing back in his mum's direction before explaining himself. "My mum's been nagging me to come over and say 'hi'," his tone was apologetic, "so, hi."  
  
The guy didn't bother trying to hide how stunned he was, simply staring at Rick with big brown eyes that Rick had to admit were incredibly beautiful. Studying the guy looking up at him, Rick couldn't help noticing the streak of dirt smeared across his pale skin, and thought how innocent and young the wide-eyed look made him appear, despite the fact they were probably the same age. The guy's lips were gently parted, and he seemed to be trying to remember how to speak.  
  
"Uh... hi..." he eventually managed, putting Rick a little at ease now he'd received a response. He still wasn't exactly sure what he should do or say now, so just waved vaguely at the plot of earth.  
  
"Would you like a hand or anything?"  
  
The guy started shaking his head, looking down. "It's okay, thanks."  
  
"I don't mind," Rick said gently, finding he really didn't. The guy seemed nice enough, but something about his presence felt inviting in a way Rick couldn't quite explain.  
  
"I don't have any gloves," the guy explained as he looked back up at Rick. Something about that gaze put Rick on the back foot, and he struggled for a moment, trying to ignore the unusual feeling of unease. He focused on the reply, though, taking it to mean his offer to help would be accepted if there were gloves. Rick didn't really mind - he could always wash his hands clean. Giving a dismissive shrug, he crouched down.  
  
"I have time to spare. My mum won't let me help her, so..."  
  
"Oh god, are you that bad?"  
  
Expecting an expression of dismay, Rick was surprised to see the guy giving him a teasing grin, which he matched easily. The look lit up the blond's entire face, and Rick couldn't help the way it lifted his own mood.  
  
"Maybe..." he said slowly, hoping to see the guys' grin stay in place.  
  
The blond snorted a laugh. "Well, fine. It's just weeding, you can't wrong with that."  
  
"That's what you think..." Rick was still grinning, playing up to the idea he'd just given the other guy about his incompetence. "I'm Rick, by the way."  
  
"Rick," the blond nodded, testing Rick's name. "I'm Kieren."  
  
"Nice name. Suits you."  
  
As he watched a hint of a blush cross Kieren's cheeks and heard his surprised 'thanks', Rick wondered if he'd ever liked anyone this much in such a short space of time before. He smiled at Kieren, before turning to the weedy patch of ground and starting to work. He might have played up to being useless, but Rick knew to at least get as much of the root out as possible, not just the top of the weed. After a few seconds, Kieren started work too, the pair relaxing in comfortable silence.  
  
"Does your mum come here often?" Kieren eventually asked, making Rick look up and round to where his mum was still focused on what she was doing as if nothing else in the world mattered.  
  
"Yeah, quite a bit. It's her escape, you know?" Kieren was nodding at Rick's words. "How about you?"  
  
Chucking a handful of weeds into the growing pile to the side (he didn't have a bucket or anything to put them in), Kieren brushed his hand over his forehead to push a strand of hair out of his way, leaving another streak of mud in the process. "Only just got it. Hopefully I'll have a chance on days off, not sure."  
  
"Work a lot?"  
  
Kieren nodded, going back to his task. Rick looked at him a moment longer, the smudge of dirt making him smile.  
  
"Just an admin job in town. It's chaotic, so this..." Kieren waved vaguely around them, indicating at the allotments, "... is nice."  
  
"I know the feeling," Rick agreed, at least understanding the desire to be somewhere quiet. He was struggling to see the blond in a busy office environment - he seemed too gentle for that, and more at home working with his hands - and Rick wondered if the job was one Kieren wanted, or one he needed. Rick's own job, however, he felt like he'd been born to do. He wouldn't want to give it up for anything.  
  
As he added another clump of weeds to the growing pile, Rick slowly stood. "Hold on a sec," he said in response to Kieren's questioning look, turning and heading back to where his mum was planting seeds at carefully measured intervals. She had no use for the bucket, so he took a hold of it. "Can I borrow this mum?"  
  
Janet gave him a smile, nodding. "Of course, love."  
  
"Thanks," he said, already heading back to Kieren's patch of ground, setting the bucket down and shifting the uprooted weeds into it.  
  
"You don't need to," Kieren insisted. Rick had by now realised that the guy was someone who politely declined help even if he needed it.  
  
"Lugging things around is my speciality," he grinned, shrugging as he kept filling the bucket. "Well, that and cutting people out of car wrecks, putting out fires, rescuing cats from trees, that kinda thing."  
  
"Wait, you're a firefighter?"  
  
Kieren's eyes were wide again as he stared at Rick, who was pretty sure he'd not had that response before - Kieren looked almost terrified. It could almost be funny, if Rick wasn't so genuinely confused.  
  
"Well, yeah," he said, frowning. "Is there something wrong with that?" The bucket was full, but he didn't move from the spot, watching as Kieren turned back to his task, shaking his head.  
  
"No, it's just... surprised, that's all."  
  
Rick sensed that wasn't the real reason, but he let it go. Picking up the bucket, he took a step back. "Let me go empty this," he excused as he headed off, still trying to understand the reaction his profession had gotten from the guy whose company Rick genuinely found himself enjoying. Walking back, he heard his mum call out to him.  
  
"Rick?"  
  
"You okay?" he checked as he drew closer. She nodded.  
  
"I'm just going to start packing up, we need to get back."  
  
"Oh, right," he managed, disappointed as he remembered the limited time-frame. "I'll just be a sec."  
  
Although Kieren could probably have heard what Janet said if he'd cared to listen, Rick explained anyway as he set the bucket down and crouched to pull at least a few more weeds out before he had to go. "My auntie's visiting, we have to go in a minute."  
  
"It's okay," Kieren said kindly. "Thanks for helping."  
  
"Thanks for letting me. I'll have to come with my mum more often, see if we can bump into each other again."  
  
Despite his reluctance to go, Rick managed to give Kieren a smile, which was returned almost sadly.  
  
"Yeah..." Kieren said with a soft sigh.  
  
There was something more there, but Rick doubted Kieren would ever say it without prompting, so found himself asking, wanting to know. "What is it?"  
  
It took Kieren a moment to answer, as if he was weighing up the pros and cons. Eventually, he shrugged, now meeting Rick's gaze with a resigned look.  
  
"There's no way you'd agree to meet up for a coffee of anything, is there?"  
  
"Sure, why not?" Rick asked, genuinely confused as to why Kieren thought he would hate the idea. Okay, he wasn't a fan of coffee, but hot chocolate was always good, and 'coffee' usually just meant a chance to hang out. He liked Kieren, the guy was easy company.  
  
"I mean like a date."  
  
"Oh," Rick managed, realising he'd skipped the other meaning of 'coffee' quite simply because that option only crossed his mind when talking to a woman. "Yeah, sorry, I'm not..."  
  
Rick frowned, catching himself in the middle of an automatic response. He knew he wasn't gay, but... why not? Looking at Kieren, Rick was shocked to find that the idea of being with a guy suddenly wasn't so awful - especially not if the guy was as inviting as Kieren was to him. He didn't really care if guys were together, but it had never been for him. To find himself seriously considering it... he was too stunned to think straight (and he'd later laugh at that statement).  
  
"Actually," he heard himself saying. "let's do it. You want to go for coffee, or do something else?"  
  
Kieren was obviously having as much trouble catching up with the fact Rick was agreeing to the offer as Rick was. "Just coffee," came the disbelieving reply. "I know a nice place, they do some food as well..."  
  
As Kieren trailed off and they found each other just staring and an awkward silence growing, Rick suddenly burst out laughing. Stunned by it, Kieren managed a tentative smile, obviously unsure what Rick was laughing at. It broke the tension, though, and Rick stood, still laughing and grinning at the ridiculousness of what was happening. He was pretty sure he'd just been asked on a date by a guy, and had agreed. An attractive guy, he added.  
  
"Sorry," he apologised. "Come on, let's wash our hands and I can give you my number."  
  
He reflexively held his hand out to help Kieren up, and as the offer was accepted, he wondered how the touch of cool, dirty skin against cool, dirty skin could make feel so warm. He was sure he should feel more afraid of how right it felt.  
  
They let go of each other, though, and Rick took the bucket and tucked it inside the shed door as they passed by. The water available to wash their hands with was freezing cold, but got the worst of the dirt off, and after shaking his hands dry and wiping them on his top, Rick dug out his phone.  
  
"You still sure?" Kieren asked as he finished washing his hands.  
  
Rick nodded, giving Kieren a half-smile. "Yeah, I am. I don't have much free time, though. Off today and tomorrow, then working for a while."  
  
"Do you have anything planned for tomorrow?"  
  
Rick shook his head, scrolling through his contacts to find his own number. "No. Did you have a time in mind?"  
  
"Early afternoon?"  
  
"Sounds good," he grinned. "Here, here's my number."  
  
Kieren took his details, giving him a missed call, and then put his phone away. As Rick slid his back into his pocket, he glanced over and saw his mum was pretty much ready to go. Shit.  
  
"Sorry I can't stay longer," he said, genuinely meaning it. "And, um..." he hesitated, not sure if it would be worse not to point it out. "It kinda suits you, but you have a smudge of dirt on your face."  
  
Kieren looked horrified, blushing as he started rubbing at his skin, not even knowing where the mark was. "Oh god," he was muttering, clearly embarrassed.  
  
"Here," Rick said gently, taking half a step forwards as he took pity on Kieren. Bunching his sleeve in his hand, Rick lifted it to Kieren's forehead first, and carefully rubbed the dirt off when Kieren didn't object to his intention. He then moved to Kieren's cheek, diligently watching what he was doing and trying not to think about the delicate, pale skin he was brushing clean, or the beautiful long lashes almost grazing Kieren's cheek as the blond looked down and submitted himself to Rick's attention.  
  
And fuck, Rick wanted to tilt Kieren's chin just the right way to allow Rick to kiss him.  
  
"Any on me?" he asked instead. Kieren looked up at him, shaking his head.  
  
"You're fine."  
  
Lowering his hand to his side, Rick knew he should take a step back. He should go.  
  
"Text me the detail, yeah?"  
  
"I will," Kieren agreed. For a moment Rick was afraid that Kieren wouldn't - that the guy would worry too much and back out. He'd have to just trust and hope that wouldn't happen. It briefly occurred to him that he was supposed to be the one fretting and wanting to back out.  
  
"See you tomorrow then," Rick said, finally stepping back and making to leave.  
  
"Yeah, tomorrow."  
  
The last thing Rick could think to do was give Kieren a genuine smile, which he found growing even wider when Kieren returned it.

**Author's Note:**

> Eh, not that great, but here it is.


End file.
